Body fins for swimmers



Nov. 22, 1966 w. K. MARTIN BODY FINS FOR SWIMMERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 2'7, 1964 INVENTOR WILLIAM K. MARTIN 3 4 ,zg wazm ATTORNEYS W. K.MARTIN BODY FINS FOR SWIMMERS Nov. 22, 1966 Filed Aug. 27, 1964 5Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WILLIAM K. MARTIN mim,% 29AM vfiwlm ATTORNEYSNov. 22, 1966 w. K. MARTIN 3,286,287

BODY FINS FQR SWIMMERS Filed. Aug. 27, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 WILLIAM K.MARTIN BY Wm wmms ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,286,287 BODY FINS FORSWIMMERS William Knox Martin, 145 Audubon Ave, New York, N.Y. Filed Aug.27, 1964, Ser. No. 392,388 7 Claims. (Cl. 9-308) This invention relatesto swimming aids and more specifically it relates to constructionfeatures on fins or flippers for attaching to members of the human body,such as, the arm or leg.

In the art of underwater propulsion, either related to sports, such as,scuba diving, or related to military maneuvers, such as, frogmanoperations, it is desirable to use swimming aids to enhance the abilityof a person to swim under water. Thus, it has long been customary towear feet flippers for this purpose; and certain pro posals have beenmade to supplement these with attachments for fitting upon the arm.

In such prior art developments, however, there have been manyshortcomings which detract from ease and maneuverability in swimming.One of the most significant disadvantages encountered in prior artdevices is the encumberance to the swimmer of artificial fins orflippers. For example, a webbed glove which fits over the hand toincrease the stroking surface does not permit normal use of the hand ingrasping weapons or tools while swimming under water.

Furthermore, many sorts of attachments require introduction of unnaturalmotions in swimming in order to take advantage of use of flippers orfins. For example, a rigid fin attached to the arm can provide a largesurface for stroking the water on a down stroke or swimming powerstroke.However, upon the return stroke, much of the advantage may be lost inthat the fin has to be maneuvered in such a way that it will notinterfere with swimming progress by twisting the arm in an unnaturalmanner or otherwise taking a stroke of abnormal character so that theswimming aid may be returned for a further power stroke.

Further disadvantages in swimming aids are encountered where substantialair pockets are provided to introduce buoyancy, since this makes itdiflicult to swim and dive under water.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention tocorrect such deficiencies in the prior art and to provide improvedattachments for the human body to aid in underwater swimming and thelike.

Another object of the invention is to provide body fins for swimmerswhich may be used with conventional, natural swimming strokes and whichprovide for a wide range of motion and maneuverability, such as, quicklystopping, banking, turning, and looping as well as providing greaterswimming speed than heretofore possible.

A still further object of the invention is to provide swimming aidswhich may be attached to various body members, such as, the arms andlegs.

Thus, in accordance with the invention, there is provided a swimming aidadapted to protrude from the human body which comprises a flexible ordrooping member presenting a fin or flipper surface of greater area thanthe body member. One of the significant features of the invention is theprovision of maneuverable control means for selectively manipulating theswimming aid to cause it alternately to become rigid or relaxed, thusproviding for a natural power-swimming stroke where the swimming aid isrigid and a feathered return stroke where the swimming aid is droopingor flexible. This feature is provided by the inclusion of a rigidizing,muscular rib portion, generally about the outer edge of the fin orflipper, which may be flexed, as by stretching, to cause the flipper toattain its rigid configuration. The flippers themselves may be 3,236,287Patented Nov. 22, 1966 ICC fashioned in various forms, which will bediscussed in particularity following the specification, to permitmounting on various body members in different manners and t utilizevarious modes of construction.

, Accordingly, the invention is described with reference to theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of an arm fin constructed in accordance withthe invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end view looking down from the elbow of the flipper shownin FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side view showing the flipper in rigid cupped position asused in a downward power-swimming stroke;

FIGURE 4 is a side view showing the relaxed position of the arm fin whenencountering the upward return stroke;

FIGURES 5-7 are detailed views indicating alternative manners ofattaching the arm fins;

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of a further arm fin embodiment which has aportion extending above the elbow;

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of a leg fin embodiment;

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of an alternative form of construction of therigidizing member;

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view of a swimming suit encompassing variousbody fins; and

FIGURE 12 is a plan view depicting the use of the fins for control inair flight.

FIGURES 1-4 depict the basic nature of a body fin constructed inaccordance with the teachings of this invention. The fin may beconstructed of a soft, elastic, rubber-like material which is stretchedabout a central aperture 13 to form a bodice section 14 to fit upon theforearm of the swimmer in the fashion shown in FIGURE 1. At oneextremity, there is a semi-glovelike hand-grasp portion 15 which permitsthe thumb and fingers to extend freely through the end to leave themfree for grasping any desired object.

Attached to the bodice section 14 is the major fin-like surface 16 whichhas a ribbed outer edge 17 and which over the greater part of thesurface is substantially a flexible membrane member which will droopabout the arm on an upward movement in a feathered condition or returnstroke in the manner shown in FIGURE 4. The outer rim 17 is attached atthe handgrasp section 15 near the curved filet 19 so that the hand whenarched to provide a downward power-swimming stroke as depicted in FIGURE3 will stretch the outer rim 17 into a taut position and cause theentire rib protrusion to become rigid with the remainder of the flexiblemembrane 16 forming a cup-like interior surface 18 for scooping thewater on a power-stroke. Thus, it may be seen that the hand whenattaining a normal downward swimming power-stroke will selectivelymanipulate the rib portion by stretching it to cause the fin to becomerigid, and when the arm is relaxed in the return stroke it will permitthe fin member to droop and pass through the water with littleresistance.

To aid in reducing the water resistance, the crosssection of the finmember is designed as shown in FIG- URE 2 which looks into the aperture13 toward the hand grasp 15. As may be seen, the general shape of thearticle from this end view is streamlined like the airfoil of anairplane extending from a rounded leading edge to a feathered trailingedge such that when the thumb is directed upward through the water itmay be moved with least resistance to the water, as shown by the flowlines 20.

The entire swimming aid is molded of a resilient rubber or plasticmaterial in one piece to produce fin sections on opposite sides of thearm entry aperture.

It may be recognized that this sort of construction of the fins, byproper reaction of the arms and hands may be used for swimming strokesor braking and for turning or banking through the water, with simplestroke FIGURE 11 which is donned by a swimmer.

variations that are easily learned and which are essentially naturalmovements.

As may be seen from FIGURES 5-7, the elastic bodice member 14 may bereplaced by alternative mounting means, such as the strap member 22, thelaces 23, or special interlocking flaps 24-25. The interlockingstructure of FIGURE 7 is defined by flaps 24-25 extending along twosplit edges 26-27 which would fit along the surface of the forearm.Thus, the general bodice portion 14' may be stretched enough to permitthe interlocking folds to be engaged, and held in place in interfo-ldedposition by the internal pressure of the arm against the elasticity ofthe bodice section to present a smooth outer seam. Other forms ofmounting means may be used, but it is important to cause the member tobe closely wrapped about the body member in form-fitting fashion toexclude possible loosely fitting pockets which would permit entry ofwater to weigh the swimming aid down and cause inferior performance.

As shown in FIGURE 8, the arm fin attachment may also be closed by azipper 28 and it may additionally have a section 29 extending above theelbow which protrudes through an opening 30 to prevent interference ofthe swimming aid with the flexing of the arm.

A similar swimming aid attachment may be mounted upon the leg of aswimmer to supplement the webbedfoot extension 31. This also wouldpermit normal use of the leg by provision of aperture 32 for flexing theknee and has section 29' which extends above the knee. This legattachment can operate in the same general manner shown in the armattachment embodiment by using the foot and ankle 33 to selectivelymanipulate the swimming aid into rigid or drooping position.

An alternative form of construction of the rib member is shown in theembodiment of FIGURE wherein a thin membrane 16' is provided with aninflatable edge portion 35 formed along the outer edges and adjacent tothe bodice section 14. This may be inflated, for example, by the carbondioxide bottle 36 in order to provide the rigidizing muscular ribportion of the swimming aid and to permit the aforedescribed strokingaction when the hand is in a normal cupped position.

The fins may be attached to other body members, such as, the back, andperform similar results; or they may be attached in general to a bodygarment as shown in In this manner, individual fins 16, etc., may beglued, vulcanized,

or otherwise affixed to the body portion 40 of an underwater swimmingoutfit. As shown in this embodiment, a back fin 41 is mounted to providebody stabilization whereas the remaining fins on the arms and legs areused for maneuvering and locomotion.

It may be understood from the foregoing construction that the sameprinciples embodied in swimming are useful also in the air duringparachuting operations. Thus, as shown in FIGURE 12, a pilot has aparachute 42 attached but may want to maneuver himself into a preferredposition before opening the chute by using the fins 16, etc., forgliding or maneuvering through the air,

Thus, although the members afforded by this invention were primarilydeveloped as swimming aids, they are not restricted to such use.

Having described my invention, those novel features which are believeddescriptive thereof are set forth with particularity in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A member adapted to be attached across a joint of the human body foraiding in maneuvering the same through fluids comprising a flexible finextending from the surface of the body and a continuous rigidizingmuscular rib portion of said fin, the ends of said rib portionterminating substantially at the surface of said body on opposite sidesof said joint, said rib portion being curved outwardly so as to becomerigid by stretching in a first position of said joint and to recede intoa relaxed position in a second position of said joint.

2. A member as defined in claim 1 fashioned to fit upon an arm to extendacross the wrist and including an open hand grasp permitting the thumband fingers to extend freely through one end and for selectivelymanipulating said rib portion by positioning of the hand.

3. A member as defined in claim 1 fashioned for mounting upon a leg toextend across the ankle and including a portion from which the footprotrudes for selectively manipulating said rib portion by positioningof the foot.

4. A member as defined in claim 1 wherein the rib portion forms theouter rim about the edge of said member.

5. A member as defined in claim 1 wherein the member comprises a thinmembrane having an inflatable outer ridge forming said rib portion.

6. A swimming aid mounted about :a swimmers hand and comprising aflexible fin extending from the arm surface, wherein a rigidizingmuscular rib section is provided with a hand grip portion positioned formanipulation by the hand to a stretched position to set the flexible fininto a rigid position, and to provide a flexible fin surface when thehand permits the rib section to recede into a relaxed position.

7. A swimming aid comprising a flexible fin mountable upon a body memberof a swimmer .and including a rigidizing muscular rib section forretaining said fin in a rigid extended position when the rib section isstretched and a control member postioned for manipulation by a portionof the body member to which the fin is mounted for selectivelystretching the rib section upon command.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 973,224 10/1910Smith 9-302 2,692,995 11/1954 Le Bihan 9-308 2,851,707 9/1958 Samuels9309 2,947,010 8/1960 Rabin 9-307 X 3,107,371 10/1963 Thompson 9-307 XMILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner. ALFRED E. CORRIGAN, Examiner.

6. A SWIMMING AID MOUNTED ABOUT A SWIMMER''S HAND AND COMPRISING AFLEXIBLE FIN EXTENDING FROM THE ARM SURFACE, WHEREIN A RIGIDIZINGMUSCULAR RIB SECTION IS PROVIDED WITH A HAND GRIP PORTION POSITIONED FORMANIPULATION BY THE HAND TO A STRETCHED POSITION TO SET THE FLEXIBLE